During October’s second presidential debate, Obama said part of the solution to gun violence “is seeing if we can get an assault weapons ban reintroduced.” For those unfamiliar, this law existed from 1994-2004, and banned the sale of many rifles, shotguns, and handguns based on cosmetic features (such as pistol grips on rifles and folding stocks).

“If there are undecided voters who put the Second Amendment as their first issue, then certainly the president’s remark about bringing back any type of gun ban is going to chase away those voters,” said Joe Eaton, a regional coordinator with the Buckeye Firearms Association in Ohio.

One of those is independent voter Robert Brewer from Cincinnati.

When he heard the president’s renewed support for an assault weapons ban, Brewer said, “I was thinking I was born in a country (where) I had a right to keep and bear arms and I don’t know what he’s talking about. It goes against the Constitution, which gives me the right to keep and bear arms and that right shall not be infringed.”

With the precedent of a prior assault weapons ban already existing–with some Republicans supporting the first law–a renewal could be seen even if Republicans maintain control of the House.

Fox News continued by interviewing another Ohio gun owner

“I am definitely concerned,” said new mother Stephanie Thomas, as her baby was sleeping in a carrier on a gun display case inside Target World, an Ohio gun shop. “I wanted to come in and make my purchase before the election.”

Referring to the president’s proposed ban, she said, “It makes me nervous. I have three children and a home to protect.”
Thomas bought a shotgun and a full case of ammo.

A second-term Obama would likely aim for more than just the [permanent] renewal of the assault weapons ban, but would likely target even more gun owners by banning high-capacity magazines (in California this means more than 10 rounds), banning the private sale of guns (they call this the gun show loophole), and preventing any movement on national concealed-carry reciprocity.

The Fox News article warns that there is another threat to gun owners which is even larger than what could be banned by legislation: The Supreme Court.

Both recent Supreme Court rulings affirming an individuals’ right to own a firearm were 5-4 decisions. Additional cases limiting gun rights are making their way through the lower federal courts, and many gun experts say the next battleground for the Second Amendment is back at the Supreme Court.

In response to Obama’s debate comments, the National Rifle Association came out with a new ad. It warns, “Obama put two justices on the Supreme Court who threaten our right to self-defense. Defend freedom, defeat Obama.”

Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy, who typically land on the pro-Second Amendment side of the fence, are 76. If either is replaced by an anti-gun successor, pro-gun activists fear their rights will erode.

For optimists who argue that Obama hasn’t banned any guns yet, you should consider what he told Russia’s Prime Minister “After My Election I Have More Flexibility.” Do we really want to allow him to have “More Flexibility” with us?

Someone who understands the potential change to the laws and the previous precedence set in the Clinton gun ban, should post a bullet list of what this actually means. What could be banned, how it will effect current firearm owners, what could be retroactive, and to what extent could citizens prepare for (or hedge against) a new gun ban.

“Assault” weapons is a label created by the liberals to make you think these guns are somehow evil and to draw images of violence in your mind. They want you to think that these weapons are only for military use. The fact is that semi-automatic rifles targeted by the last ban have been around since Theodore Roosevelt and little has changed in the way they function since then.

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